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Thuy Trang
Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese born American actress who is best known for her role as Trini Kwan, the yellow ranger, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Thuy played Kali in the 1996 film The Crow: City of Angels. Early Life Thuy Trang was born on December 14, 1973 as one of four children in Saigon, South Vietnam, to South Vietnamese Army officer Ky Trang and his wife Be. In 1975 after The Fall of Saigon, Thuy’s father was forced to leave the family and he immigrated to the United States. While Ky petitioned the United States government for political asylum for his family, Thuy lived with her mother and siblings in a detention camp. In 1979 she and her family boarded a cargo ship bound for Hong Kong. The trip was a long and difficult one with Thuy often falling ill and her mother having to force-feed her food to keep her alive. At one point the other people on the boat thought that she was dead and wanted to throw her overboard but her mother prevented them from doing so. Thuy and her family were eventually reunited in the United States in 1980 and settled in Fountain Valley, California. Thuy’s father died in 1992 when she was 18. She attended and graduated from Banning High School in Los Angeles and she enrolled at the University of California Irvine to study civil engineering. Career Thuy initially planned to pursue a career in civil engineering but switched her focus to acting after a film agent saw her during a college introductory acting class in 1992 and offered to represent her. Her first acting role was in a television commercial for the church of Scientology. Her first major and most notable role was as Trini Kwan, the yellow ranger in the cast of the TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, taking over for Audri Dubois who was in the pilot episode. Thuy left the series after one and a half seasons due to contractual and payment disputes. Thuy appeared as herself in the 1995 film Encyclopedia of Martial Arts: Hollywood Stars and she appeared as a manicurist in the 1996 film Spy Hard. '''Thuy’s first major film role was as Kali in '''The Crow: City of Angels. Death Thuy died in a car accident on September 3, 2001 near San Francisco. Thuy was traveling with model and fellow actress Angela Rockwood, for whom Thuy was supposed to be a bridesmaid for Angela’s wedding to Dustin Nguyen. Thuy and Angela were passengers in the car, the driver was Angela’s other bridesmaid Stephanie. While she was driving, Stephanie drove over some loose gravel in a groove along the side of the street and lost control of the car. The car swerved violently across the road before hitting the road side rock face and flipped several times before hitting the safety rail and falling over the bank into a second rock face. Stephanie survived as did Angela although Angela was paralyzed from the neck down due to a severed spinal cord. Thuy had severe internal injuries and she was air lifted to the hospital but died before getting there. She was 27. Aftermath and Legacy After her death Thuy was cremated. It is unclear if her ashes were buried or scattered at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. Following her death, the 36th episode of the series Power Rangers Time Force: Circuit Unsure was dedicated to Thuy’s memory. There is also a website, https://www.thuytrangtribute.com/, dedicated to Thuy’s memory. More recently, in the 2017 film, Saban’s Power Rangers, the actress portraying Trini Kwan, Becky G, is seen wearing a shirt that says “1973” as a homage to Thuy as 1973 is her birth year and she is Trini Kwan’s original actress. Trivia * Thuy was bilingual and spoke Vietnamese and fluent English * Thuy had a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu * Thuy had a pet dog named Nia * Thuy was a Buddhist * Her role as Kali in The Crow: City of Angels is the only time Thuy appears as an antagonist Gallery 7410FD4C-7583-444B-8C65-022B0D989563.jpeg|Thuy Trang as Kali Category:The Crow: City of Angels Cast Category:Deceased Actors